2020 struck again for Zak the Baker, aka Zak Stern.
Around 5 a.m., the bakery owner’s phone blew up.
There had been an accident at his Wynwood location at 295 NW 26th Street. Nest video caught it all go down.
A white 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo had slammed into the building, damaging the structure, destroying the hurricane-impact doors and, perhaps even more tragically, messing with the day’s batch of sourdough.
“Sourdough bread can be tricky, you can have a perfectly active sourdough mother, good mix, good fermentation, good shape, good proof, and then all of a sudden a Chevrolet smashes into the bakery and ruins everything,” read the Instagram post with surveillance video of the frightening incident.
Though a few night bakers were on site, no one was injured, reported Stern, who sounded tired but relieved the situation wasn’t worse.
“You can see the car went full speed around the corner and right into the building,” said the owner of the Wynwood hot spot. “All things considered, everyone got away OK and no one was hurt, even the driver.”
If you still want some of Zak’s delicious Kosher offerings, the place, as well as the nearby deli, is open; it just looks a little worse for wear and a few of the breads that were set out near the crash had to be tossed.
“We don’t close,” Stern said. “We’re like Waffle House.”
As for most of us, the year 2020 hasn’t been kind to Zak the Baker. A few weeks ago, an electrical fire ripped through the establishment the evening before one of the busiest days of the years, Rosh Hashanah.
“We’re warriors,” he said, laughing slightly. “We roll with the punches: Zika, hurricanes, COVID, a bank heist. This latest punch wasn’t too hard.”
Yes. Back in 2017, in pre -pandemic times, one of Stern’s trucks was stolen and used in a bank robbery at a TD Bank at 7400 SW 40th Street.
Stern estimates the current damage to his property is in the “tens of thousands,” but isn’t sure his insurance will cover them.
“It’s 2020, nothing shocks me.”
Celebrity/real time news reporter Madeleine Marr has been with The Miami Herald since 2003. She has covered such features as travel, fashion and food. In 2007, she helped launch the newspaper’s daily People Page, attending red carpet events, awards ceremonies and press junkets; interviewing some of the biggest names in show business; and hosting her own online show. She is originally from New York City and has two daughters.
